Post-Game Discussion: FLORIDA at USCe

I lived there at one point and also made the drive. I was in the end zone surrounded by Kentucky fans. I’ve replayed that moment 100 times and it never gets old.
Danny- classy, humble, and a freshman throwing to the Gainesville kid and walk on. The BEST!!!

 

And, they are pre-snap movement, which seems to throw us for a loop sometimes. I’ll say it again we don’t have to have a great running game against them but we have to have some running game.

 

Kind a looks like my EKG from the end of the game!

 

I believe we have beaten those dogs plenty when we were underdogs! Right now we are 14 point dogs.

A little history:
We beat them in 2002 when they were #5 and we were unranked, 20 - 13
and in in 2003 when they were #4 and we were #23, 16 -13
and in 2005 they were #4 and we were #16, 14 -10
and in 2014 they were #9 and we were unranked 38 -20

We also won in 2020 when they were #5 and we were #8 by a score of 44 - 28 after spotting them 2 touchdowns and they knocked Kyle Pitts out the game!

They have won 5 of the last 6 but over the last 9 it's only 5 - 4 in their favor.

 

Nice one. The defense still has a long way to go. Finally, someone started listening to SOS and chucking the ball down the field.

 

Rewatching. Credit to our OC for using Wilson in many different creative ways. Much the way Percy was. Wilson was completely up to the task. Without him we lose yesterday. He's going to win us a bunch of them.

 

Incredible ending, incredible win! Momentum builder.

 

We’ve broken their hearts a lot over the years with a “weaker” team.
Zook was real good at that. Too bad he let it happen to us too often.

 

Subtle little thing but it pays dividends when he has time.

 

https://x.com/CoachRyanO/status/1713354882499883111?s=20

Not sure why this is just a link and not the tweet.

 

I loved our amazing 4th quarter victory, but I just looked up USCe's defensive numbers. Yards allowed versus P5 teams

North Carolina: 437
Georgia: 459
Miss State: 519
Tennessee: 477
Florida: 492

Georgia is currently allowing 262 yards, 254 against P5 teams. Our boys are going to have their hands full...

 

Yeah our defense sucks and yet as of today our DC still has a job.

I’ve been a SC fan for over 30 years and this is absolutely the worst defense I’ve ever saw. That’s saying a lot. After yesterday this is how we rank on defense.

121st out of 130 in Total Defense
105th in scoring defense out of 130
130th out of 130 (yes, dead last) in passing yards allowed

 

Just real proud of the team getting to 5 - 2 at the bye week. Heal up. Biggest game of the season coming up. All preseason goals are still attainable, UF controls it's own fate in the SEC East.

Thank you coach and staff!

 

Seems like you guys just love to do everything we do! Spurrier, Muschamp, Defense…

 

Okay, time for the real meat. No more "fillers."

IMO, what we saw Saturday afternoon was a changing of the guard, so to speak. There was a BUNCH of fits and starts throughout Napier's time at UF. The frustrating part, besides waiting so damn long for real progress, was that for every "UT win" there was a "UK loss." It isn't Napier's fault (mostly) but rather our angst about where we are in the major college football pantheon. I will just say that...Billy inherited a DAMN BAD mess. Thanks....again...Dumbo. You have NO BUSINESS making money from major college football. NONE!!!!

Anyways, Napier has got a mess to clean up. This isn't Spurrier's Gators and timeframe. This is the 2020s and the game HAS changed. It is what it is (because there are other threads to discuss it). I recall when we were in the "wait 'til next year" phase. What it meant, IMO, was that we were destined for elite status...IF we got the correct coach. Ray Graves was essentially "close but no cigar" and so we went on a hunt. And so, our journey. Us old-timers should know the dance all too well.

Anyways, cutting to the chase, we have been in a....funk?.....since 2009, when Meyer basically pulled a "FSU Jimbo" move and put us in the ditch. I won't belabor if it was by design (ie, Bama and the SEC did not like our "uppity nature") or just plain a bad series of events. But in the ditch we have resided. And so, the Gator Faithful's journey to where it was, where it resides, and where it wants to get back to. It is a DAMN BAD event. Let's call it our "Moses in the desert" time. And it has ended up with Napier. And most specificly, Napier, Year 2, and this group of "fans." It is real but is ain't pretty.

This year is no different than last year. A "great win" with a "WTH loss". And so, wash, rinse and repeat. USCe was set up for the trough, so to speak. But then.....S______T HAPPENS! And this is what this post is all about (both the good and the not-so-good).

First of all, what in the H____L was the "hurry-up" offense we just saw??? You are telling us that "it wasn't quite cooked enough and so we decided to go all '60s'"??? Damn, whatever was the secret sauce, do NOT lose the formula! Napier getting "advice" about what is the proper way to do business got him fired up enough to...let's use his own words....stop playing scared? Hey, whatever works!

Back to the game. Mertz was, overall, a damn fine SEC-caliber QB. Some of the throws were wonderful; if not the end result, at least the attempt. And the "gotcha" passes, especially to the TEs, were damn nice. The running was hit and miss. It is the O-line and it is what it is. This WAS big-boy SEC football. Maybe not "Bryant Bama Football", but SEC football nonetheless. If anything I saw that fits the script was, this is a 60-minute team. We want to believe that means in 1) superior conditioning or 2) superior talent/depth, but to me, that means we have some decent talent and some real leadership. I think it all showed.

So, let us go where we don't want to (sorry): the defense. This year is all about three things: Mertz does something truly great (not that likely) or the running game HAS to click (more likely, but not a given), the defense has to have a magical game, or the other "upper-echelon wannabe" just plain loses it. Mertz was in his zip code. USCe may (debatable) may have lost the game, or the defense was "sneaky good." Let me just say that...they were good enough. The "60-minute" moniker works, but to me, they found some real leaders. Oh heavenly day!

I would like to say that we "have arrived" but in reality (again, IMHO), what we have is a young team that is dodging bullets. The old guys - mature but limited - are being passed by the youngsters - enthused and motivated but not quite skilled enough. Kimber is about the only exception on defense. Okay, he and Jadon Hill. Otherwise, Youth Ho!

My point is that, we have changed course. Mertz CAN win games instead of just not losing them. The run game can compliment his skill instead of the other way. We just have to get healthy in the WR area and keep growing in the TE position. The O-line is officially the weakest link, although the D-line is kind of close. Pressure IS what it is all about.

So, in summary, I would say that...this regime has gotten something good. Call it (sorry) Norvell 2.0, but one year faster. And yes, Napier has to do it in the SEC whereas Norvell is in...well, you all know. Now, will they read the press clippings like they could have last year after Utah or this year against Tennessee? The only answer has to be, "we shall see." To me, THE goal is to get to 7 wins during the regular season and to represent in the bowl game. To me, that means to win against Arkansas and FSU at home. Anything else is gravy. So, if they lose one of those, they need to win against Missouri or LSU. Plausible but not likely this year. It is what it is.

Thank you for reading this obviously long post. Go Gators!

 

Spikes>>>Moreno week.

 

I'm truly excited for the continued development of the TE's. There's that one super tall guy; Hansen? And Bordingham is just so $. Those two. Jackson, Pearsoll, Tre. Pretty respectable group of ball-catchers, if you will. We have the backs. Pray for the road-graders unity and quantum leap. The "D" needs to do some homework, sure up their stuff!

Billy's pass-heavy run-first offense has a chance. Georgia let Vandy score more than we did. Then again, we had them at home. Lately, we've been losing to Georgia by 20 to 25 points, if my memory is right (trying to forget). Hopefully we can close that gap considerably. If we can start off fast there's hope.

I'm almost in the same state as the early season, overcome by optimism and hype. Reality reminds me we only beat a mediocre team on Saturday. So there's that wet rag in the face! Hmmm. So what! Natty!

Time to break out the ole Billy Baroule: Billy, Billy, Billy....

Go Gators.

 

That may be but even in a loss that surely was a heartbreaker for sc fans, after the emotions recede, it has to feel better than letting a rb go for 280. That was completely demoralizing.

 

Georgia slept through the Vandy game. We will get the type of effort from them that they showed Kentucky. We won’t catch them off guard or have to wake them up at halftime. Their front seven does not play. Mertz and co need the game of their lives. People keep thinking the puppies are down but I don’t think so. It’s hard to get their attention after 24 wins in a row. If our players think this is a Georgia team that is ripe for the picking, it’ll be a lot worse than the Kentucky game. If we win this one, it’ll be a slobberknocker that we answered the bell many times over and will be a win for the ages. Get ready for a knock down drag out or an ass whooping.